QUETTA:
The security forces have frustrated a great terrorist attack that was planned for August 14 by the proscribed Liberation Army of Baluchistan (Bla), which implies a university professor as a facilitator.
“This was not just an attack: it was part of a larger plan to break Pakistan and destabilize Baluchistan. Our agencies acted quickly and crushed their conspiracy,” Baluchistan’s main minister, Sarfaraz Bugti, who addressed a press conference in Quetta, said on Monday.
He said that the MAJEED BLAEED BRIGADE uses multiple tactics, added that the group has also been considered the responsibility of previous terrorist attacks.
The defendant, identified as Professor Usman Qazi, has a doctorate in Pakistan studies and was an employee of the Government. Qazi, who is currently under question, allegedly admitted his participation in the blade in the video and shared details of how he associated with the proscribed group.
According to Bugti, Qazi met three people linked to Bla while studying at the Quaid-E-Azam University (Qau) in Islamabad. He was later contacted by Hebtan alias Kalak and Bugti, who allegedly recruited him for the Bla and subsequently introduced Basheer Zaib.
Dr. Habetan and Bugti also affirmed that Qazi had acted as a facilitator in the bombing of the November Quetta station 2024, which killed 32 people and wounded more than 50. According to Bugti, the professor transported at a bomber on a motorcycle to a location near the station before delivering it to another handler.
Qazi was supposedly in communication with Dil through the application of telegram encryption messaging. In a video statement, Qazi said that his first task was to provide medical assistance to Dil. He also claimed to have provided refuge to the person who carried out suicide bombing at Quetta’s train station.
Bugti said that around 2,000 to 2,500 government employees have been investigated as part of the anti -terrorism measures in the province, and added that a dedicated cell has been established to specifically discuss issues related to terrorism.
‘Private How?’
When addressing the media, Bugti rejected the claims that Baluchistan is privately deprived. “For those who insist that Baluchistan is private, I ask, how was this teacher private?”
The prime minister dismissed feelings as “propaganda.” He warned the people of Baluchistan that they do not join organizations such as Bla, urging parents to monitor their children. Bugti added that the government was taking all necessary measures, in coordination with security forces, to eliminate terrorism from the province. “We are the State, not the terrorists,” he said.
Bugti also said that the government would not be intimidated by extremist elements. Those who commit terrorism in the name of Baloch’s identity must also fall under the scope of the National Action Plan, along with other extremist militants.
Baluchistan has dealt with terrorism for a long time, with attacks that intensify both frequently and intensity.
Last month, a passenger bus was ambushed when an armed man opened fire, killing at least three people. Railway stations throughout the province have also been repeatedly attacked in recent months, which underlines the persistent threat of violence.
